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The White Festival: Skiing's First Indoor Stadium Event

One of the major barriers to the expansion of skiing, and 'freeskiing' in particular, is the fact that so many of its greatest moments take place out of reach for all but the most intrepid. Be it remote backcountry jumps, late night street sessions or even contests in parks that even the skiing members of the public don't visit, the sport is for the most part hidden from view.

The White Festival, a 'world first' indoor event, combining the various freeski disciplines: slopestyle, halfpipe and big air, along with street skiing and style more akin to what you'd find on your screens come movie season. For three days, the arena will be transformed into an indoor snowpark and 40 of the best skiers and snowboarders on the planet will be present and throwing down in an event that is part competition, part exhibition.

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/909103/Master-3D-White-Festival-Insta-Clip-169-mp4Powered by high-speed winches, the riders will work in teams to hit the many features in the multi-option setup. The whole thing goes down on real snow, produced on site making it the first time such an event is organized indoors! Judging will be based on both creativity and technicality, with the aim to make the show a true representation of skiing and snowboarding as a whole.

Sounds pretty good right? Well to cap it off, the first announced skiers are Henrik Harlaut, Phil Casabon and Tanner Hall. While the rest of the rider list is under-wraps for now, the full lineup is stacked with the biggest names in the game. There is also on-site coaching and introductory courses, along side music acts and more. With any luck this is going to be a very accessible exhibition of some of the best things in skiing. exactly the sort of thing we need to get the next generation fired up.

The whole thing goes down in Albertville, France from the 16th to 18th November. There will also be a live stream and we'll be there to check it out in person. For tickets and to find out more: www.white-festival.com